logo
It may not be trendy, but I'd still send my kids to single-sex schools

It may not be trendy, but I'd still send my kids to single-sex schools

Look, I fancy myself as being as modern as anyone who remembers chanting 'Peace, Charger, Fosters Lager' in the 1970s or drinking Tang while watching Lost in Space can be.
If you ignore all the mid-century furniture, contemporary is my vibe. I know burrata is over, that statement belts and solo travel to secondary cities are hot. I've seen Amyl and the Sniffers live and am into hyperrealistic drama series.
And yet, I can't drag myself into the current day and admit single-sex schools should not still be a thing.
The subject came up for me and my husband this week on a dog walk, sparked by news that enrolments at Melbourne's all-boys Xavier College have dropped 19.5 per cent in the past five years.
That doesn't mean single-sex schools are out of favour – Brighton Grammar's numbers jumped 12.3 per cent in the same period – but maybe parents who once went for Xavier's old-school tie are apparently looking elsewhere.
Loading
Like, to co-ed classrooms.
Funny that education is still something Chris and I discuss, given we've got no more school decisions to make ever. But single-sex vs co-ed? It's an evergreen debate. Literally everyone has a take, often impassioned.
Mine? That single-sex schools are weird. A relic. A social experiment that makes no sense in a world where boys and girls are supposed to work side by side on equal footing.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Instagram has decided I'm a sad old sack. It's only partly true
Instagram has decided I'm a sad old sack. It's only partly true

Sydney Morning Herald

timea day ago

  • Sydney Morning Herald

Instagram has decided I'm a sad old sack. It's only partly true

Fidgety while my husband drove us to the airport last Friday, I checked my email. A bald message from Instagram: my personal account had been locked due to 'suspicious activity'. Here's a recovery link. Turned out the only thing vaguely suss was I'd changed a security setting the day before. That was enough to have Meta on full alert. Thanks, I guess. But since then, no amount of link-clicking or troubleshooting-page scouring has unlocked what's been mine since 2012. Thirteen years of life moments – kids in everything from face paint to graduation gowns, the first photo ever taken of me and Chris together (off our gourds in a Canberra pub), ex-husbands, ex-haircuts – made inaccessible by the cold efficiency of Mark Zuckerberg's customer service department. My first instinct was panic. My resting heart rate shot to 87. Then: admin mode. I filled out forms that vanished into the Meta abyss, sent pleading emails to nobody. Paid $80 to the local IT experts to work some magic. Even paid for the blue tick verification that makes you look up yourself, just because my mate Scotty said it would get me access to actual humans. Loading It did. Kind of. I sat through endless loops with support staff who seemed to think I was trying to hack my own account. I uploaded my ID. Reset my passwords – four times. Followed up daily. Nothing. Turns out paying Insta for support is like paying a cat to fetch your slippers. I felt unmoored. Shattered. The account was a decade-plus archive of proof I'd been a hands-on mum at athletics carnivals. That I'd hiked the Three Capes Track with a 14 kilo backpack and not nearly enough chocolate. That I once had a dog in an I Dream of Jeannie costume. Like your own social media account, the photos were a personal history. Charted moves, milestones, breakdowns, bad lighting, the Jet Get Born reunion concert, roadies with the hilarious Rat Chat rat pack. Important, right?

Trainer Chris Waller and jockey James McDonald aiming to end surprising run of outs
Trainer Chris Waller and jockey James McDonald aiming to end surprising run of outs

News.com.au

time4 days ago

  • News.com.au

Trainer Chris Waller and jockey James McDonald aiming to end surprising run of outs

So Suave, a brother to champion mare Verry Elleegant, could help Hall of Fame trainer Chris Waller snap one of the longest losing streaks of his celebrated career at Kembla Grange on Tuesday. And superstar jockey James McDonald will be striving to ride his first winner for the Waller stable in a month at Warwick Farm's Wednesday meeting. Waller has had 79 starters since his last winner, Barbray in a Goulburn maiden 11 days ago, and McDonald hasn't ridden a winner for the trainer since scoring on Regulated Affair at Warwick Farm on May 7. Usually, Waller and McDonald give the media plenty of story angles because of the sheer dominance of their trainer-jockey partnership which only makes their recent lack of success more remarkable. But even using the term 'lack of success' is something of a misnomer because the Waller stable broke the $50 million prizemoney barrier for the season over the weekend. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! In fact, Waller has prepared the winners of 228 winners on all tracks this season including a national record-equalling 18 at Group 1 level, and has sewn up his 15th successive Sydney trainer premiership. McDonald has also had an outstanding season, riding a career-best 20 Group 1 winners including 14 majors in Australia, and is on track for a seventh Sydney premiership in a row. Waller's recent run of outs doesn't even stretch two weeks but either So Suave or stablemate Ant can end the trainer's losing streak when they clash in the Kembla Grange maiden over 2000m. Ant, who was narrowly beaten in third place behind Dark Arts at Canterbury last start, is the TAB Fixed Odds favourite at $3.40 with So Suave next in betting at $4.80. So Suave, a three-year-old gelding by Zed out of Opulence, has been unplaced in his three starts to date but is bred to appreciate getting out to a more suitable 2000m. His sister, Verry Elleegant, was a mighty stayer and Waller trained her to win 11 Group 1 races including the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, Tancred Stakes and ATC Australian Oaks for more than $14.8 million prizemoney. So Suave is part-owned by Brae Sokolski of Verry Elleegant fame and is the second-last foal out of the dam, Opulence. The broodmare lost her life after giving birth to a sister to Verry Elleegant in 2022. Tragically, Verry Elleegant also died due to complications when giving birth to her first foal in Ireland last year. Then at Warwick Farm on Wednesday, Waller and McDonald team up in all seven races including the superbly-bred two-year-old filly, Ernaux, in the TAB Handicap (1100m). Ernaux is by champion sire I Am Invincible out of Oakleigh Plate winner Booker and sold for $3 million at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale last year. SALE DAY SNIPPET: American businessman John Stewart of @rresoluteracing was underbidder on the Pierro x Winx filly today on Day 2 of #InglisEaster but he made sure he secured the second-top lot â€' this beautiful I Am Invincible x Booker filly of @CoolmoreAus â€' for $3m. — Inglis (@inglis_sales) April 8, 2024 She is resuming at Warwick Farm after finishing a close fourth on debut behind Wootton Lass at Kensington in late March. Central Coast, who makes his debut in the Arrowfield Plate (1100m). Central Coast, also a 2024 Inglis Easter Sale graduate, cost $1.4 million as a yearling and is by Coolmore's sire sensation Wootton Bassett out of three-time Group 1 winner Sunlight.

'Absolutely head over heels': JoJo Siwa confirms relationship with Chris Hughes
'Absolutely head over heels': JoJo Siwa confirms relationship with Chris Hughes

Perth Now

time5 days ago

  • Perth Now

'Absolutely head over heels': JoJo Siwa confirms relationship with Chris Hughes

JoJo Siwa is "absolutely head over heels" for Chris Hughes. The 'Bulletproof' singer sparked a connection with the 'Love Island' star when they appeared on 'Celebrity Big Brother' in the UK in April, and though the pair previously insisted they were just "platonic soulmates", she's admitted they are now more than friends and she couldn't be happier. Asked if their bond is platonic or romantic, she paused for some time before she told The Guardian newspaper: 'It's not platonic any more, and it's been a beautiful development, a beautiful connection, and I'm absolutely head over heels for him and he's the same way.' JoJo dismissed speculation her relationship with Chris is a "PR stunt". She said: 'Clearly, you've never been around us. I won't ever speak for him, but for me personally, the happiness in my life just radiates off of me right now. Literally yesterday, I was massaging my cheeks; I've never [before] been in pain from smiling so much.' But the former 'Dance Moms' star can understand why people are fascinated by her and 32-year-old Chris. She said: 'People can see our chemistry, and they got to see it develop. 'I think everyone's just curious, and I can't blame them.' The 22-year-old star admitted she feels happier than ever and hailed meeting Chris as the "best thing" to ever happen to her. She said of her newfound happiness: "Ever since 'Big Brother', genuinely. Even my family is like, 'What happened in there?' 'You know when you're alone, how you feel? You are your true, raw self. I've obviously felt like that before, but never around one single person.' Just a week before she entered the 'Big Brother' house, JoJo had an overwhelming feeling that the show would be transformative for her, she just hadn't expected the impact wouldn't have just been on her career. She told her mom and manager Jessalynn: 'Something feels different. I don't think I'm gonna win, but I think I'm gonna change.' She reflected: 'Little did I know it was going to change my personal life so much. By a landslide, it is the best thing that's ever happened to me.' JoJo was in a relationship with non-binary Kath Ebbs when she entered the house, but their relationship ended at the 'Celebrity Big Brother' wrap party and while she now identifies as "queer", she believes sexuality is fluid. She said: "Queer encompasses how I am, and who I am. 'There's a lot of different sexual identities. I think there's nothing more beautiful than somebody discovering themselves.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store